Uncommon and Obscure Combat Patches Being Worn.

[patches]

Would the 3rd Army be worn as a combat patch for the Dominican Republic?

 

Maybe!

 

 

COL Peter S. Scales, MC, Commanding Officer, 55th Medical Group (second from right) with his replacement, LTC Richard F. Barquist, MC; LTC Robert L. Severance, MC, Commanding Officer, 15th Field Hospital, from 3 July until his death on 13 August; and two 15th Field Hospital nurses, 2LT Barbara Couldthrope, ANC, and Maj Marlys E. Dullum, ANC.

 

 

These people came out of Fort Bragg, apart from units controlled by the 18th Abn Corps, all other support units at Bragg fell under 3rd Army.

 

 

This got me thinking about this shirt from an earlier topic.

 

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/165233-unknown-manchu-patch-on-an-army-fatigue-uniform/

[patches]

You may be right 8240th AU. here is the Greek patch your're talking about.

 

patch.jpg

And here's another one of those Greek patches with tab being worn. 1st Lieutenant John Beechler getting his Silver Star, Tokyo? SSM awarded to Beechler, a FO from the 39th FA Bn, 3rd Div for actions at Outpost Harry April 1953. Just why he wears it rather the the Marne Div patch is a good guess.

 

[seanmc1114]

And here's another one of those Greek patches with tab being worn. 1st Lieutenant John Beechler getting his Silver Star, Tokyo? SSM awarded to Beechler, a FO from the 39th FA Bn, 3rd Div for actions at Outpost Harry April 1953. Just why he wears it rather the the Marne Div patch is a good guess.

 

congratulation_photo.jpg

Did American soldiers serve as advisers or liaisons with foreign units in Korea?

[patches]

Did American soldiers serve as advisers or liaisons with foreign units in Korea?

Don't know. Seen another one of these being worn on the right shoulder. This on the then Colonel Richard Stilwell when he was CO of the 15th Inf 3rd Divin1953, it's in the Singlaub auto biography Hazardous Duty, anyone got a copy to scan photo for posting?

[seanmc1114]

I don't think there are any really uncommon or obscure combat patches being worn here, but this is a really cool photo of soldiers of the 10th Special Forces Group from the 50s showing a lot of airborne service. The fifth one from the right may be the 13th Airborne Division and the seventh one from the right looks an Airborne Infantry Company scroll from the Korean War.

[firefighter]

Nice pic.The 6th one in is 18th A/B Corps & 8th is 503rd A/B RGT.

[patches]

Here's one that caught my eye, the United States Military Academy being worn as a combat patch or what has to be in this case a former war time service patch. at first I thought it was a reverse image, thats common enough, but look at his collar, we see his rank badge, the correct place on the right collar.

 

The officer is one Colonel Charles L. Kirkpatrick, and is seen pinning the SSM of Lieutenant Beeler in Tokyo(from one the above post for action in Korea,) Can't find hardly anything so far on Kirkpatrick other than he was apparently a Medical Corps officer holding the rank of Colonel thoughout the 50s, and was awarded the Legion of Merit in 1959, perhaps he retired then still a Colonel.

 

 

http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=99828

 

[seanmc1114]

Here's one that caught my eye, the United States Military Academy being worn as a combat patch or what has to be in this case a former war time service patch. at first I thought it was a reverse image, thats common enough, but look at his collar, we see his rank badge, the correct place on the right collar.

 

The officer is one Colonel Charles L. Kirkpatrick, and is seen pinning the SSM of Lieutenant Beeler in Tokyo(from one the above post for action in Korea,) Can't find hardly anything so far on Kirkpatrick other than he was apparently a Medical Corps officer holding the rank of Colonel thoughout the 50s, and was awarded the Legion of Merit in 1959, perhaps he retired then still a Colonel.

 

Newspaper.jpg

 

http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=99828

 

 

That is definitely an odd one.

 

[seanmc1114]

197th Infantry Brigade SSI worn by what is presumably a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

[Baron3-6]

Odd ball combat patch in my collection: Sanitary Corps LTC with a British 21st Army Group combat patch (and even small holes for the British style shoulder titles). This uniform came intact out of the Memphis TN area with a Memphis tailor tag so the owner was likely from around there - still trying to attribute it. From what I gleaned in the "Green Books", the British Civil Affairs teams did not have anough health specialists after D-Day, so a few US Sanitary Corps officers were detailed over to them - I presume he was one of them.

[Baron3-6]

Close up of the Brit 21st AG patch:

 

[seanmc1114]

Officer of the 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry in Vietnam wearing the 25th Infantry Division SSI as his current assignment and the 4th Infantry Division SSI as his combat patch. The 2-22nd was part of a brigade of the 4th Infantry Division that was swapped with a brigade of the 25th in August 1967 so the officer would have been in the unusual circumstances of being reassigned to a new division without leaving his current battalion assignment.

[patches]

USARV SSI worn with an Airborne tab on the ACU of Chaplain (Lt. Col) Lt. Col. Irvine Bryer. Photo came from a 2007 online issue of "Stars and Stripes". The article doesn't reference his particular assignment in Vietnam but says he served two tours.

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/medical-chaplain-in-iraq-serves-god-and-country-1.64896

 

Found him in the Database.

 

Vietnam Veterans Database

 

Name: BRYER IRVINE JR Branch: ARMY Rate: E05 Rank: SERGEANT MOS: 71H MOS Title: Personnel Specialist Entered: Discharged: Service Number: State: NEW YORK Race: AFRICAN-AMERICAN

[seanmc1114]

Here's a colorized photo of a discharged soldier wearing the 3rd Armored Division with Spearhead tab as a combat patch probably around 1945 or 1946.

[patches]

 

Here's one on a BDU.

 

More AFROTC patches are to be seen here

[patches]

This is Lieutenant Colonel Herald B Gallinger, CO of the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron 9th Cavalry, 24th Infantry Division West Germany 1959, we see an obsure patch worn by Gallinger, after study, the only one I can find that matches this is the 115th Cavalry, in WWII the 115th Cavalry Wyoming National Guard was broken up, the only redesignated element to see action was the 115th Cavalry Group ( mecz) the other redesignated elements the 115th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and the 126th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons seen no overseas service, So what were seeing is a 1950s pocket patch for the 115th Cavalry being worn by Gallinger as a combat patch, Gallinger most assuredly serving as a staff officer with the 115th Cav Gp during WWII, he appears to have Korean War service ribbons as well as more overseas bars than would of been allowed for service in WWII as the 115th Cav Gp was only in the ETO from January 1945 to October 1945, so another case of a soldier prefering his WWII unit as a combat patch rather then the one he was in during the Korean War.

 

115_zps511646bc.jpg

 

The pocket patch of the 115th Cavalry.

 

115th cav pocket patch.jpg

An update

 

Photo Courtesy of the Wyoming National Guard Museum, who's Assistant curator gave his kind consent to post this image here for this topic on Lt Col H.B. Gallinger

 

 

Seems the combat patch being worn by Lt Col Gallinger is NOT a 50s era unit pocket patch as first thought of by me, but rather this unique one.

 

If you look closely at the one Gallinger is wearing we do see the faint outline of an OD shield. The top of the shield Gallinger is wearing looks slightly different then the one posted here in this color photo of it on the uniform. My contact and I tend to believe it might be a West German made example made up for Gallinger.

 

Note the patch itself, it's merrowed edged, this will be example of an early merrowed edged patch. The patch is sewn to a coat of the Pre-Early WWII commander of the 115th Cav, Rhodolph L. Esmay (will post one more of Esmay as a General in the Patches in Action topic) Esmay of the Wyoming NG was CO of the unit from 1937 to 41, the belief that this patch was a post WWII combat patch, as seen on Gallinger bears this out, and was not a patch worn by the 115th Cav in the 30s or during the course of WWII, that it was just sewn on Esmay's coat for display purposes.

[VolunteerArmoury]

197th Infantry Brigade SSI worn by what is presumably a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

When were the Kuwaiti Kuwait Liberation & Saudi Arabian Kuwait Liberation Medals authorized since he's not wearing either?

[seanmc1114]

1st Marine Division SSI worn as a combat patch by Vietnam veteran SSG Zwicker while assigned to the Army Reserve's 187th Infantry Brigade mid-70's. Note in the second picture he is wearing the RVN Gallantry Cross and and Civil Actions Unit Citations among his personal awards on the left side of his uniform.

[seanmc1114]

Soldier of the 193rd Infantry Brigade in Panama early 80's wearing the 2nd Infantry Division SSI as a combat patch on his jungle fatigues. This was most likely earned along the DMZ in Korea in the 60's or 70's since it's doubtful he had served in the Korean War.

[patches]

Soldier of the 193rd Infantry Brigade in Panama early 80's wearing the 2nd Infantry Division SSI as a combat patch on his jungle fatigues. This was most likely earned along the DMZ in Korea in the 60's or 70's since it's doubtful he had served in the Korean War.

Yep, 2nd Inf Div, we had one in A Co 2/12 Cav 1st Cav Div in 80-81, he was a SFC, one of the Platoon Sergeants, I remember he had no CIB, probably was there then in 1966-67-68 before the CIB was instituted for wear for DMZ actions.

[patches]

The XVIII Airborne Corps combat patch.

No he's not a XVIII Corps WWII Vet, he's a DOM REP Vet. Spec 4 David Kolchuk, taken in Vietnam in late 1965 when he was in the 246th Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Company. According to Kolchuck's own account he designed alot of the death cards used there.

[patches]

WWII, A theater made 82nd Chemical Mortar Battalion combat patch on a Khaki Cotton Twill Shirt.

 

 

 

The Left side of shirt

[patches]

Right side, the Combat Patch.

 

 

Shirt from member Klaxon, in the What's It Worth Forum.

[seanmc1114]

Recon soldiers of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam - 1970. Note that despite the fact the soldiers are wearing ERDL camouflage uniforms and otherwise all subdued insignia, the soldier at lower left is wearing a full color 82nd Airborne Division SSI as a combat patch. He most likely served with the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd in 1969 and didn't have enough time in-country when the brigade went home in December and was transferred to the 199th. This reinforces the idea that subdued 82nd patches were rarely worn even when reassigned outside the 82nd.

[seanmc1114]

Vietnam LRRP of Company H 75th Infantry wearing the full color 101st Airborne Division SSI without Airborne tab but with a Company L 75th Infantry scroll as a combat patch.